Can you use WeChat Pay in Australia & how does it work?

Whether you’re a Chinese citizen coming to Australia or an Aussie heading over to China, knowing which payment tools will work in either country is important. One of the most popular ways to pay for things in China is WeChat Pay.

In this guide, we’re going to explore how WeChat Pay works in Australia. We’ll cover whether Australian merchants accept it, who can open an account, and how to use it. We'll also let you know a little about Wise, a convenient card you can link to WeChat Pay for digital payments.

What is WeChat Pay?

Integrated into the Chinese “super app” WeChat, WeChat Pay is a digital wallet and payment method. It has over 900 million active users, growing steadily since it was first released in 2016.²

Using the WeChat app with WeChat Pay set up, customers can pay for products and services in several ways.¹

• Use WeChat to scan a payment QR code, confirm the amount, and pay.
• Pay merchants by letting them scan your WeChat Pay payment code.
• Pay for things through Mini Programs that exist inside the WeChat app.
• Pay inside the WeChat app at a merchant’s Official Account, which acts like an online storefront.
• Make payments in third-party apps that support WeChat Pay as a payment option.
• Use the WeChat “Scan” feature on websites to scan the payment code with your phone and pay.

Is WeChat Pay safe?

WeChat Pay is generally considered to be a safe payment services provider³. It has invested resources into creating and implementing a state-of-the-art security and anti-fraud detection system, with real-time monitoring. WeChat is also certified as being in compliance with the Payment Card Industry Security Standard (PCI-DSS), meaning it meets international standards.

Can you use WeChat Pay in Australia?

In addition to mainland China, WeChat Pay is supported in 77 countries and regions, including Australia. This means Aussie merchants can set up an account and offer it as a payment method to their customers.

Do merchants in Australia accept payments through WeChat Pay?

It’s up to individual businesses to decide whether or not they want to support WeChat Pay as one of their payment methods. Part of that includes whether or not their current payment partner actually supports WeChat Pay.

For now, there are some who do, but it’s not been widely adopted across Australia. That said, WeChat Pay could become more commonplace in the future.

Recently, a partnership was announced between Stripe and WeChat’s parent company Tencent.⁵ Through this partnership, WeChat Pay is being integrated into Stripe services in 20 countries, including Australia. They aren’t the only company, either. ANZ has automatically included WeChat Pay as an option in their ANZ Worldline Move 5,000 EFTPOS terminals, which can generate the QR code to be scanned.⁶

Can Australian citizens and residents have a WeChat Pay account?

WeChat doesn’t mention any restrictions on which nationalities can have a WeChat Pay account. This suggests Australian citizens and residents are able to open one, provided they have a valid bank card and can complete the registration and identification process.

How to set up WeChat Pay in Australia

To set up WeChat Pay, you first need to download the WeChat app and create your own account.⁸ To do that, you’ll need a phone number and to input your basic personal information. You may also need to change the app language to English.

Once your WeChat account is set up, follow these steps to get started with WeChat Pay.

1. Open the WeChat app and press “Me.”
2. Select “Pay” or “Wallet.”
3. Press “Add card.”
4. Follow the prompts to link your international card.
5. Verify your card details.

As soon as the card has been successfully linked, you can start using WeChat to pay for things and send money to friends.

Be aware that during some part of the setup process, you may be asked for identification to verify your account, as part of the Know Your Customer (KYC) process. You’ll be prompted on how to complete it, but as a foreigner, the only acceptable form of ID is a passport.

Can you use WeChat Pay without a Chinese bank account?

Yes, you can use WeChat Pay without needing to have a Chinese bank account.⁸

Nowadays, WeChat supports several card networks, including:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• JCB
• Diners Club
• Discover

When deciding which card is best to link to your account, it’s worth considering the Wise card. With the Wise card, any currency exchanges done by Wise are at the mid-market rate, with low, transparent fees. Also, you can hold balances in multiple currencies within your Wise account, including CNY and AUD.

How to use WeChat Pay

Using WeChat Pay is fairly intuitive, especially if you’re used to using digital wallets or apps as a payment method.

Making in-store payments with WeChat Pay

There are two ways to make payments in-store:⁸

• Have the merchant scan your WeChat Pay payment code
• Use WeChat to scan the store’s WeChat Pay QR code

Paying by scanning the store’s QR code is more common and can be done quite easily.

1. Open the WeChat app.
2. Press the plus (+) icon.
3. Tap “Scan.”

From there, the device camera will open up, and you can use it to scan the QR code. A new screen will open, and you can follow the prompts to complete the transaction.

Something very important to keep in mind when paying with WeChat as an Australian is that there’s a 3% fee for transactions over 200 CNY in value made using an international card. If you’re considering using WeChat Pay to make AUD payments in Australia, it’s likely cheaper to use your Australian bank card or the Wise card instead.

Sending money with WeChat Pay

With WeChat, you can also send money to other WeChat users.⁸ To do it, you open a chat with the person you want to pay, press the plus (+) icon, then tap “Transfer.” From there, enter the amount of money you want to send and a message if you feel like it, before confirming.

Save on your CNY conversions: Link your Wise card to WeChat

If you’re going to China or shopping in Chinese e-commerce stores, you’re going to need a reliable and easy way to make payments without getting ripped off by bad exchange rates. The Wise account and card can be a great solution for spending CNY with no hidden costs or sneaky rate markups by linking it directly to WeChat!

The Wise account is an easy way to save up to 5x when you send, spend, and withdraw money internationally. Just add AUD to your account and spend in CNY using the mid-market exchange rate. This makes it easy to top up your WeChat wallets or use them directly for payments, ensuring you save money on CNY conversion rates.

Also, you can use Wise to send Chinese Yuan directly to Weixin users in China!

Looking for more? You can hold over 40+ currencies with your Wise account and spend with your linked Wise card here at home, or abroad wherever you’re travelling.

Here’s how to get your Wise card in just a few simple steps:

• Open a Wise account online or the Wise app in just a few minutes
• Top up your Wise account in the currency of your choice
• Order your Wise card for a low one-time fee
• Start spending with your free digital card right away, and link it to WeChat
• Your physical card will arrive in the post, and you can start spending with your virtual card right away

🚀 Get your Wise card today

1. WeChat Pay - Payment Products
2. Resourcera - WeChat
3. WeChat Pay - Security
4. WeChat Pay - FAQ
5. Tech in Asia - Stripe brings WeChat Pay to businesses in 20 countries
6. ANZ - Alipay+ and WeChat Pay
7. WeChat - Help Trying to Make Payment
8. China Legal Experts -WeChat Pay for Foreigners: Guide to Digital Payments in China